Good thing the Pens are in pretty good shape, because I just noticed that 3 of the top 4 scorers on WB are Oiler's property. And Fliewich only looks marginally impressive with 55 points in 72 games. We need to have a deep draft next year. Stay healthy, Ryan Stone. You could be that illusive second round pick we've dreamed of having (one that makes the NHL!).

I'm not that worried about WB right now. Management has said they know they need to re-stock, and we have plenty of youth up with the big club right now, most of which are WB grads - Armstrong, Christensen, Talbot, Whitney, etc... Add Staal (18), Crosby (19), and Malkin (20) and I'd say the future is in pretty good hands. They have plenty of time to get the prospect pool stocked back up.

Kennedy is a 2-way deal. I believe he has one more year on his contract.

The thread-starter is being slightly ignorant when just looking at the stats. If not for Wilkes-Barre, Pittsburgh would not have Ouellet, Christensen, Armstrong, Talbot, Whitney, Nasreddine, Scuderi, Fleury, etc. And those are just the players who have been recalled this season or last.

Then, we can say that Noah Welch, a Wilkes-Barre prospect, was able to bring Gary Roberts to Pittsburgh and the same can be said about the relationship between Daniel Carcillo and Georges Laraque.

There are a couple reasons why Wilkes-Barre is lean this year.

First, they have been plundered by Pittsburgh as Pittsburgh has really started a youth movement that has required most of the talented players in Wilkes-Barre to be big parts of this team. I listed those players above.

Second, when Shero was brought on, he dumped the wasteful contracts of players who were legitimate players in the AHL but weren't going anywhere in the NHL. This list includes players like Endicott, Caron, Koltsov, Fata, Murley, Hussey, Chiodo, Surovy, and Rita. Any of those players are excellent minor-league players but aren't going to contribute to the long-term future of Pittsburgh, which is the goal of the Wilkes-Barre franchise.

If you look at last week's 'news and notes' section at the faceoff factor blog, http://wbspenguinsahl.blogspot.com, you'll see that assistant GM Chuck Fletcher (responsible for WBS) has said that he was hired too late to get big-name AHL players for this year but plans on improving that for next year. That's why the Edmonton deal had to be done.

The future, even short-term, of the WBS Penguins is still bright. Next year will probably mean the return of Dixon, Kennedy, Lannon (RFA), James (RFA), possibly Stone or Filewich if they don't make the big club. To go along with that, the 2 college goalies, Brown and Goepfert, will probably be there along with Letang, Goligoski, and others.

netwolf wrote:Stephen Dixon is another player worth keeping an eye on.

I'm not that worried about WB right now. Management has said they know they need to re-stock, and we have plenty of youth up with the big club right now, most of which are WB grads - Armstrong, Christensen, Talbot, Whitney, etc... Add Staal (18), Crosby (19), and Malkin (20) and I'd say the future is in pretty good hands. They have plenty of time to get the prospect pool stocked back up.

I loved what I saw from Dixon in workouts at the beginning of the year. The player I really liked was Morrison(maybe first name Brett?), but im sure he was Oilers property, and i think he may have spent time with them even.

netwolf wrote:Stephen Dixon is another player worth keeping an eye on.

I'm not that worried about WB right now. Management has said they know they need to re-stock, and we have plenty of youth up with the big club right now, most of which are WB grads - Armstrong, Christensen, Talbot, Whitney, etc... Add Staal (18), Crosby (19), and Malkin (20) and I'd say the future is in pretty good hands. They have plenty of time to get the prospect pool stocked back up.

I loved what I saw from Dixon in workouts at the beginning of the year. The player I really liked was Morrison(maybe first name Brett?), but im sure he was Oilers property, and i think he may have spent time with them even.

There's a Patrick Thoresen that played for WBS this year, but no Morrisons. There was a Morrison in Pittsburgh's camp on a tryout, but he didn't make the team.

Dixon is a very good PK and defensive forward, although his offense is limited. He's kind of a Max Talbot-type of player, except he doesn't get involved in as many scuffles as Max does, but still plays with a ton of energy. He's a very discliplined hockey player with a lot of smarts.

I think he's talking about Jordan Morrison. He was in camp, but I'm not sure what happened to him after that. I'm guessing the Pens just cut him loose? He had the same number of points as Jordan Staal did last year when both were playing for Peterborough.

eastonpensfan wrote:Second, when Shero was brought on, he dumped the wasteful contracts of players who were legitimate players in the AHL but weren't going anywhere in the NHL. This list includes players like Endicott, Caron, Koltsov, Fata, Murley, Hussey, Chiodo, Surovy, and Rita. Any of those players are excellent minor-league players but aren't going to contribute to the long-term future of Pittsburgh, which is the goal of the Wilkes-Barre franchise.

Of that bunch there is only one that could still make an NHL team. Murley was miscast and forced into a defensive role with this club. He never complained and got hurt the season he was let go. Look for him to resurface in Colorado in the NHL.